Chicago-Area Bank Robberies Drop in 2017: FBI

CHICAGO, IL -- Illinois bank robbers pulled off 160 heists in 2017, according to newly released statistics by the FBI’s Chicago office. Bank robbery figures were recorded for the U.S. District Court’s Northern Illinois District, which spans from Chicago and its collar counties and west to the Iowa border, including Rockford. The statistics are broken down by region, robberies by days of week and time of day, and the type of robberies.

Overall, bank robberies dropped by 20 percent in 2017 compared to the year before, when busy bank bandits robbed 193 financial institutions. The most popular day for robbing banks is Friday, with 34 recorded in 2017.

“It matches the FBI theories,” Special Agent Garrett Croon said, spokesman for FBI Chicago. “We believe most bank robberies occur on a Friday before robbers want to get their drugs and drink on for the weekend.”

Croon says it’s consistent with the three most prevailing reasons bandits give for robbing banks during interviews with law enforcement -- drugs, booze and gambling. The Chicago metropolitan area, which includes Cicero and Berwyn, racked up the most bank heists with 55.

The western suburbs led the city’s suburban areas in 2017, with 44 bank robberies, followed by the northern suburbs (27) and south suburbs (26). Rockford recorded eight robberies. Also, most bank robberies occurred late in the day, with 47 banks robbed after 6 p.m.

“Many banks are now open after 6 p.m. in grocery stores and community banks,” Croon said.

Many of the bank heists were done quietly, with 151 described as “non-takeover.” Nine robberies in 2017 were “takeover” robberies, where weapons were displayed and employees and patrons meanaced.

“With a takeover robbery, everyone in the bank knows it’s being robbed,” Croon added.

And just because bank bandits are sliding notes to tellers and implying they have weapons, Croon said don’t assume these gents or ladies are unarmed and harmless.

“In law enforcement, we’ll never know if they are armed,” Croon said. “Just because they don’t show a weapon doesn’t mean they don’t have a weapon on them.”

Bank bandits can’t stop after their first heist. They only get bolder.

“Most continue to rob banks, thinking they’ll get a bigger score,” Croon said.

2017 FBI Bank Robbery Stats

Photo: Wanted bank robbers in the Chicago area (left to right, top to bottom): the elusive Midday Bandit who has robbed more than dozen banks since 2014; the Wilmington takeover bandits (Nov. 2017); Loves Park bandit (January 2017); and the goatee bandit from Schaumburg and Rolling Meadows in October 2017. (FBI Wanted Bank Robbers).